GROLLIER DE SERVIÈRE (Gaspard). Recueil d'ouvrages curieux de mathématique et de mécanique, ou description du cabinet de Monsieur Grollier de Servière. Second edition. Revûe, corrigée & augmentée de nouvelles Machines. Paris : Ch. Ant. Jombert, 1751. - In-4, 255 x 188 : (13 ff.), 152 pp., (4 ff.), 93 plates. Marbled tan calf, ornate spine, red edges (period binding). "Second edition of 1733 with a relay title dated 1751. First published in Lyon in 1719, this work describes one of the most famous curiosity cabinets of the 17th century, that of Nicolas Grollier de Servière (1596-1689), cousin of Jean Grolier (c. 1489-1565), France's greatest Renaissance bibliophile. An engineer and inventor, Grollier designed siege engines and developed a number of remarkable and eccentric machines, such as those designed to drain a marsh, raise the water in a river, beat sheep with a river's current, or raise a boat against the current without help or sail. He also invented clocks, windmills and wheelchairs, described as "very convenient armchairs for the lame". These inventions were displayed in a cabinet of curiosities that attracted the attention of politicians and craftsmen alike. The collection was enriched by his son, Gaspard Grollier de Servière (1646-1716), and his grandson, Gaspard II (1676-1745), who published this collection dedicated to the Duc d'Orléans. The work is divided into three parts: the first deals with lathe parts, the second with clocks, and the third with mechanical machines. It is illustrated with a band bearing the coat of arms of the Duc d'Orléans at the head of the epistle, by André Houat, as well as an initials and 93 plates depicting the various machines described, most engraved by Daudet and one by Duflos. The plates are numbered in Roman numerals; some numbers are missing (39, 48 and 76), while duplicates appear with numbers 31, 52, 56 and 72, followed by the letter A for the seconds. In addition, five plates are numbered 84: the first with no letter, the next four with letters A, B, C and D respectively. A good copy in contemporary binding, with the Jombert bookseller's label affixed to the spine. Some rubbing and spotting, dull corners, worm damage to one hinge, leather patch on first board."